Dumbledore, Boredom and Screaming Irish Heiresses!
by Stormshadow7
Summary: Dumbledore is bored and decides to help make people understand Harry Potter better as a person, instead of a zoo object.. So he decides to read all seven books in front of the school starting with Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone. Problem is .. There is a certain Irish cousin of Harry's who is not happy with Dumbledore. A/N hp not mine.owned by Rowling.
1. Chapter 1

It began as an ordinary school day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; yet all the inhabitants should have known it was too good to last. At 7 am on Monday morning, all the students from the different houses filed into the Great Hall and sat to enjoy breakfast before classes. Only..it never came! Instead as they looked at Dumbledore for guidance he smiled benignly at them and gestured at a Buffet table. Then pulled out a book and began to read aloud: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.  
**"CHAPTER ONE: THE BOY WHO LIVED." began Dumbledore softly ."Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."**  
"Normal is the semblance of rationality." Suprisingly a sixth year red haired Slytherin snapped this out.  
**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**  
"Obviously he needs a reality check, wouldn't you agree sister dear?" Suprisingly this again came from the Slytherin table. As everyone watched, an identical grin crossed the face of the sixth year from before and she said " But of course Kheana darling!"  
**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**  
"So, let me get this straight.. " Kheana appeared to be thinking. Then she said brightly, " The whale , the horse and baby pig!" everyone roared with laughter, and we're starting to calm down until the red haired Slytherin snickered out " Isn't it actually the cross between a whale and pig? So he would get bigger every year!" Again there was a roar of laughter and the teachers waited five minutes until everyone calmed down.  
**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**  
Many people growled at this.  
** was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husbandwere as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**  
"Is that even a word, Kiera?" Kheana asked the red haired Slytherin. "No. But if it were, to these muggles it probably means 'abnormal or magical' which is stupid because there is such a thing called a thesaurus with the opposite of normal in it. Obviously they have never heard of one." Kiera sneered at the book in the headmasters hands. At the Gryffindor table everyone was awed. "Mate she just insulted the intelligence of all three of the Dursley's in one sentence."Ron Weasley sounded so shocked his mouth was half open.  
**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**  
"Child like what?" Mrs. Weasley asked coolly.**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**  
"You know your life is boring when..." Kiera said with raised eyebrows.  
**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window**.  
"Imbeciles"Suprisingly, this came from Harry, Kiera, Kheana, a brown haired Slytherin across from them and Snape.  
**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**  
"Now he's making it worse." all the females nodded at Kiera's words.  
**He got into his car and backed out of number four's was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight.**  
People over third year started to look suspiciously at McGonagoll  
**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.**  
"We know the look," Harry, Ron,Hermione, Kheana, Kiera, the unknown Slytherin , Remus and the Twins chorused. Pausing in the book, Dumbledore gave the Slytherin's his own version of the 'Stern look' and asked them" And how may I ask, are you aquainted with Minerva's stern look?" Sheepshily both girls pointed to the male of their party and he blushed. "Caelin? What do you have to say? " Snape asked standing behind the boy. "Um...oops?"Caelin grinned, and Snape sighed out " We will speak of this later. "  
**As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or . Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**  
**He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!**

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something**

**...yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on . Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open- mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**  
"He loves to yell doesn't he?" Luna asked politely.  
**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road**  
"I'm sorry? The whale walked? Wouldn't he have just beached himself and been done with it?" Kheana sarcastically asked.  
**to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**  
"oh.. But of course! It will not walk further then a corner store for food, a restaurant, or the fridge. Lovely." Kiera and Caelin were now collapsed on the table at how witty their surrogate sister could be.  
**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch was whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying."The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their son, Harry"Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**  
"Yes! Die whale die!" It seemed Kheana, Kiera and Caelin were into this a little too much for some reason.  
**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**  
"Only one family in the wizarding world." Malfoy finally spoke up.  
**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**  
"Harvey Potter..." all the students tested it out, then turned appalled to the book.  
**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that...**  
More growls we're heard.  
**but all the same, those people in cloaks...He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door."Sorry," he grunted,**  
"He apologized?" Harry was shocked he had the word in his vocabulary.  
**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**  
**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**  
"He really needs a reality check."  
**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes."Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior?**  
"Nope. But it's normal Minerva behavior!" Remus Lupin from the Order of the Pheonix grinned.  
**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his . Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**  
"And that's a word to be happy about why? What was his first word? Give it? Or maybe damn you!" Kiera sneered at the book. Harry looked shocked then grinned and called from the Gryffindor table "Actually your not that far off. His first word was funnily enough 'Bitch'. He's said it since."  
**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin."Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**  
"I think Dad is enjoying himself a little too much." Tonks from the Order grinned.  
"**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over flying by daylight. Mysterious people in cloaks all over the a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Err - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you." As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**  
" Lily did that too" Remus sighed.  
"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**  
**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**  
**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley."Well, I just thought... maybe... it was something to do with... you know... her crowd."**  
" 'her crowd'?" Susan Bones growled.  
"Magic" was the short answer.  
**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?""I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly."What's his name again. Howard, isn't it."**  
"He doesn't know your name?" Kiera questioned, causing a weak shrug to come from Harry.  
"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**  
**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and . The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind...**

**He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them...How very wrong he . Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**  
**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**  
"Dumbledore!" all the students yelled excitedly, as the aformentioned person just chuckled.  
**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**  
"Oh, I think he knew. He just didn't care." a Slytherin student named Kiera O'connor sneered.  
**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter.**  
**He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into times he clicked the Put**-Outer,  
"Is that what it's really called, Professor?" Lavender asked politely.  
"No. The proper name is actually a Deluminator Miss. Brown"  
**until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it."Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled**.Harry frowned, as McGonagoll 'ruffled' meant either significantly distracted or very emotional.  
"**How did you know it was me?" she asked."My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.""You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall."All day?**  
**When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily."Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently."You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls... shooting stars... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**  
**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all."I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**  
**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**  
"A what?" A few pure bloods questioned.  
"**A what?"**  
There was an eerie silence as all the Death Eater Slytherin's looked at each other and then McGonagoll. Paling they sat further down the table from their neutral pure blood and half blood or rare muggle born counterparts.  
"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**  
**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't**  
**think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -"**  
**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name. All this 'You- Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."**  
All gathered with the exception of the order members, Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the Twins, Snape , Kheana Fraser (Kiera's half sister), Caelin Macdonald( Uncle of Kheana's) and Kiera O'Connor.  
**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.""I know you haven 't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**  
**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**  
**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."**  
**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**  
Silence rang through the hall, then a yell of " Too much info!" came from the Slytherin table's third years as a thirteen year old dove for cover laughing hysterically.  
**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer."What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead. "**  
By now,everyone had tears in their eyes and even Snape had a sad smile on his face.  
**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped."Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it...Oh, Albus..."**

**"I know... I know..." he said McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not**  
** 're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone."Dumbledore nodded glumly."It's - it's true." faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little 's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**  
"I believe that is a question that we would all like answered." Caelin said diplomatically before Harry could tear into Dumbledore.  
"**We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**  
Narrowing her eyes at the headmaster, Kiera wondered just how much he knew of that night.  
**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?""Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?""I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**  
Both Kiera and Harry shook their heads, saying " Not fully the truth. " Shocked Dumbledore looked up and questioningly looked at the Irish Heir. "It means idiot, that my da coulda laid claim ta Harry as his seventh uncle on his mothers side. So ye ha' lied, when ye said ye tried ta find more of his family!" By the end, Kiera 's accent was extremely thick and sounded very Irish( whereas she normally sounded Scottish -Irish). Dumbledore had paled significantly and placed the book on the table in front of him so he could take it all in. Finally he began reading again.  
"**You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here!" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four."Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

**"A letter." repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter. These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future**  
Here the twins grinned evilly and pulled out a piece of parchment, with a quill only to look up at the cleared throat.  
"No." Harry stated sharply. Snape felt his eyes widen slightly as he watched Potter control the Weasley Twins. Didn't Potter love his fame?  
- **there will be books written about Harry- every child in our world will know his name!""Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it."Hagrid's bringing him."**  
**"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**  
**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore."I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?" A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**"**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets."Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**  
**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**  
**"No problems, were there?"**  
**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**  
**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt. **  
**"Is that where -." whispered Professor McGonagall."Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**  
**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**  
**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.**

**Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with." Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house."Could I - could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**  
**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**  
**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**  
**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.**  
**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**  
**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**  
**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back.**  
**G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night."I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose .**  
**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four."Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**  
"I'm sorry. Did I just hear correctly that you left... My seventh cousin on a DOORSTEP! IN NOVEMBER! Are you mad? Or are you just an imbecile? Shall I spell it out for you? 1) they were not his only family! Blood protections are an ancient unknown magic that does NOT work! 2) they were clearly abusive. A proper teacher would be able to see that! Have any of you? NO! All you have seen is the fact that the child is the the sheer picture of his parents. Look at him for a change and describe to me what you see in an UNBiASED way after the reading." Kiera had finally lost her temper and created a monsoon with her elemental ability over the weather, leaving everyone dumbfounded.  
** A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by 's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!".**  
"That is the end of the first chapter," Dumbledore said. "Who would like to read next?"


	2. Author note

Harry potter character are not mine. My characters are the three Slytherins.

Undecided poll:

snape/Harry

Harry/Dumbledore(familial)

Snape/ Kiera(familial)

Harry/ other

Snape/other

Harry/ other


	3. Chapter 3

As students got up to get more food, McGonagoll spoke up and said " I believe that I will. "So taking the book lightly from Dumbledore she began:  
"Chapter Two: **The Vanishing Glass" **  
**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets-**  
Roars of laughter echoed through the Great Hall.  
**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**  
**"Up! Get up! Now!"**  
**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**  
**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and thenthe sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**  
"Sorry to tell you woman.. But it's not like a ten year old is going to automatically jump out of bed at six in the morning." Kiera sneered.  
**His aunt was back outside the door."Are you up yet?" she demanded."Nearly," said Harry."Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**  
"How often did you cook?" McGonagoll interrupted herself.  
"Every day. "Harry whispered through his arms.  
**Harry groaned."What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**  
**"Nothing, nothing..."**  
**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders,**  
**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them,**  
**"and that was where he slept.**  
"WHAT?" a loud yell came from the whole hall. Followed by , a growl of " I'm sorry? Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Because it sounded a lot like my cousin being neglected and abused Dumbledore." Losing the ability to speak rationally, Kiera descended into a spew of Irish and Scottish Gaelic threats on lives. Taking advantage of this, McGonagol began again blushing every once and a while at a creative insult or threat from Kiera.  
**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching 's favorite punching bag was Harry,**  
This seemed to top it, as all of a sudden McGonnagol choked and looked at Kiera amused. Then to everyone's shock the professor said" Ms. O'Connor, although I think that would feel very satisfying I don't think trying to see if beaching Mr. Dursley without water in the Nevada desert or a car will help anything. Personally I think seeing how fast he can swim in salt water is better, don't you agree?" Shocked, Kiera gaped then cackled evilly and said in Gaelic *But of course Professor! Shark infested water as well! Swim my pretty... Swim..*  
**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**  
**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**  
**"He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tapebecause of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**  
Another round of Gaelic insults spewed forth and this time McGonagoll joined her.  
**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**  
**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it."In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."**  
**Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**  
"how are you going to learn?" Luna asked.  
"That's the point. Abused children are often told that so they don't learn." Kiera said logically.  
**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon."Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper andshouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way -all over the place.**  
**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with hismother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell."Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**  
"Brat." Caelin bit out, causing Kiera and Kheana to turn to him and raise their eyebrows. " What? I've never had thirty seven presents." This only made them roll their eyes and turn back around.  
"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy.""All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the , who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**  
"He is having tantrums at eleven.."Kiera said slowly, then growled out " These people have some major issues."  
**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?''Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..."**  
"This child can't even add!" Padma groaned.  
"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia."Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**  
" Vernon is now making it far worse" Sprout pointed out .  
**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**  
**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**  
**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**  
**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested."Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**  
"The feeling is probably entirely mutual."Kheana had drifted into her ' seer' state, causing Kiera to grab her as she dropped backwards.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug."What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?""On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia."You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**  
**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled."I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening. ** "Kiera would! "Kheana, now recovered grinned and said to the room. " I would not! " Kiera protested and the other two looked at her slowly. " Then what about the time in Wales.." " Or the time at your Da's castle in Ireland, where you took out a whole wall?" " And Breacon Beacons? Where you destroyed the Directors cabin with 7 cases of c-4..We can go on you know Kiera. " Caelin grinned at the pouting Slytherin. Sighing, the red head grinned and said" Ok.. Maybe I would. At least I am good at it though!"  
"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "...and leave him in the car..."**  
**" illegal!"was the chorus **  
**""That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone..."Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted."Dinky Duddydums,**  
**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**  
**"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. "Brat!"Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside."I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**  
**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**  
**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**  
**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**  
**"Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls)**  
**- The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**  
**"On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump**.  
Everyone looked at Harry curiously, who just shrugged.  
**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**  
**"This morning, it was motorcycles."... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them."I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "Itwas flying."**  
There was a collective 'Harry!'.  
"**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**  
**Dudley and Piers sniggered."I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**  
**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**  
**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbockers**  
**glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at theglistening brown coils."Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge."Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on."This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. Hewouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**  
**"The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry' winked.**  
"Snakes don't have eyelids.." a brave Ravenclaw first year said.  
**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**  
**"The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:"I get that all the time.""I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**  
**The snake nodded vigorously."Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at Constrictor, Brazil."Was it nice there?"The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"**  
**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both ofthem jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOUWON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**  
**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."The keeper of the reptile house was in shock."But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**  
**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**  
**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**  
**"the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**  
**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**  
"You see Dumbledore. Blood wards would only work if a) Harry was accepted into the family by the relative of the person who had died b) relative still used previous last name or had attachment which was positive to it c) if they were working these wizards should not have been able to find him .Hearing all of this, I'm thinking your famed Blood wards; are null and void. Harry will not be returning to the Dursley's and that is final." Kiera railed the man again.  
"That's the end of the chapter." McGonagall said, closing the book after marking the page. "Who would like to continue?"  
"I will!" Flitwick said in his high voice.


	4. Chapter 4

**"The Letters from No one." **Flitwick began to read.

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"When is Dudley's Birthday cousin?" Kiera asked from the Slytherin table. Harry blinked and shook his head slightly at her. "Cousin, tell me now. When is the fat whale's birthday?" Sighing , the green eyed teen murmured across the hall "June, Kiera. It's in June." Snarling, Kiera stood and walked over to the Gryffindor table with her friends, then shocked the entire hall by sitting next to Harry on the floor.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

" How that is going to work.. I have no idea!" Kheana sneered at the same time as Ginny Weasley.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry Hunting**.

"Oh! But of course..This is your version of tag isn't it Petunia? Tire the child out .. Before beating him to a pulp, am I right dearest Petunia?" Kiera was saying it so sarcastically everyone had to look twice to make sure it was her and not the Potions Master.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"How is it funny?"someone asked.

**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**  
"Don't you dare!"Kheana snarled, tight lipped.

"**No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick."**

The hall exploded in laughter as all the pranksters fell off their seats, and onto the floor they were laughing so much.

**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"I don't think he understood anyway." Caelin snorted.**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs Figg's. Mrs Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"Ok.. That's disgusting. Even I wouldn't do that to chocolate." Caelin moaned. Raising their eyebrows, Kiera and Kheana spoke in sync " Caelin, it's a inanimate piece of food."

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats,orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.**  
There were many raised eyebrows at this.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins**

"Hey, Cael?" Kiera asked sniggering slightly. Caelin looked up and snapped " Don't you dare say it. " But Ickle Caleykins is such a cute nickname! Don't you agree?" Kheana grinned evilly at him. "No. No I do not agree, Kheana."he growled.

, **he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to was a horrible smell in the kitchenthe next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water."What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"Uh oh! Your in trouble.."Kheana started humming some movie theme.

"**Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Ah! Sarcasm. The way of life for Kiera. That and exploding houses." Caelin nodded solemnly. " It is not! " Kiera growled.

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."Harry seriously doubted thisbut thought it best not to argue.**  
'What? Harry not arguing? Wait when did he become Harry?'Snape Thiugh to himself as he looked over the boy in concern.

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat."Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**  
" The beached whale actually gets something?" Kiera asked.  
"**Make Harry get it."**  
"Wait for it." Harry replied to the looks he was getting.  
"**Get the mail, Harry."**  
"**Make Dudley get it."**  
**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**  
"He's encouraging abuse." Kiera stood and headed for one of the side doors. Suddenly, from inside they heard loud Irish curses being yelled. Finally after what seemed like half an hour, Kiera reemerged from the side room.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stickand went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and— a letter for picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would?He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library,**

**so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**  
**Mr. H. Potter**  
**The Cupboard under the Stairs**  
**4 Privet Drive**  
**Little Whinging**  
**SurreyThe envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion"**

Gryffindor!"the house roared , an **eagle**" Ravenclaw!"they were soon followed by Ravenclaw House, a **badger** And hufflepuff, and a **snake**. Silence, then all of a sudden from the Gryffindor table " Kiera O'Connor! Turn that t-shirt back now!" Everyone turned around to see Kheana chasing Kiera wearing a shirt that said ' I'm a bomb technition if you see me running try and keep up.' Finally, the girls sat down to a cackling Caelin and a shocked Hogwarts.

**surrounding a large letter H."Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the 's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"**  
"Oh good! "Kiera was enjoying this way to much.

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**  
**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle 's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it 'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge."P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

"Overdramatic much. It's not like it's going to jump up and kill you."Kiera sneered, unknown to the fact that by now Kheana and Caelin were getting very worried for her sanity.

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**  
**"Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**  
"Yay! Die horse woman ! Die!"came the shout from an overly excited first year.  
**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"I have no wish to know what da would do to me if I did that." Kiera murmured, to Kheana and Caelin.

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly."I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

" I'm thinking the O'Connor temper is going to appear soon." Caelin spoke loudly enought that he made both Harry and Kiera blush. The teachers on the other hand looked intrigued at this , but didn't say anything.

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its didn't move.**

"3...2..1!"Caelin sighed, shaking his head at Kiera.  
"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"Oh, my.. I see what you mean Caelin." Professor McGonagoll looked slightly shaken as she looked at Kiera. " Kiera, which side does the name O'Connor come from?" Looking thoughtful, the Irish teen paused for a moment then said," Truthfully it is found in both. But found more promenantly in his father side."

"**Let me see it!" demanded Dudley."OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor."Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly."But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —"**

"Oh for Voldemorts pink socks, are they truly that idiotic?" Yelled Susan."What I want to know is where on earth would Voldemort get pink socks and how do you know he wears them?" Kheana asked incredulously. There was no answer to that.

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen."No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…""But —""I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**  
Dumbledore's eyes flashed as he remembered what had happened to his sister, Arianna and he was not the only one to have a reaction. " Stamp out.. Did he just say, Stamp out?" Kiera growled furiously as her elemental magic let loose outside, and she lost control of her animagus/ spirit animal wolf; while her dolphin animagus chattered away angrily in the back of her mind. Finally gaining control, Kiera sat heavily on the floor and leaned against Caelin. Unknown to her, everyone was watching in awe at her power and control/ loss of control. " How're you feeling?" Kheana asked quietly, as she waved away Madam Pomfrey. " Exshausted. I haven't done that for years."kiera groaned tiredly, then she transformed into Kida( her wolf form) and promptly fell asleep.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard."Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it.""It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it.""SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**  
Ron whimpered under his breath.

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful."Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"Second – bedroom?" McGonagall turned her gaze on the headmaster. And as if, sensing danger, Snape moved his chair as far away from McGonagall as he possibly could. Allowing, Dumbledore to take the full brunt of the glare and lecture when it came.

"**Why?" said Harry.**

"Why are you asking that?" asked Ron."There had to be a catch of some sort. They never did anything unless it benefited them."Harry spoke softly to the rest of them. The unspoken' for me or to me' was unneeded as everyone seemed to understand.  
Snape however was suspicious and slightly concerned – over what the boy meant by the unspoken 'for me or to me'.

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms:**

"FOUR BEDROOMS!" Hermione shrieked, causing Harry to cover his ears and Kiera to wake up.  
**one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that**  
"He has a bedroom for toys? What is he a two year old?" the newly recovered Kiera asked began to curse under his breath.

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbour's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite program had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**  
"The child is so fat he bends things when he sits on them.." Kheana shook her head, thinking ' What was with parents these days?"  
**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there… I need that room… make him get out…"Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in 'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof,and he still didn't have his room was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall.**

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**  
"Harry, is this you practicing?" Ron asked nodded and grinned at him.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand."Go to your cupboard— I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**  
**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**  
"Quick! Run for for your lives!" Yelled Ginny dramatically.  
"Hey!" Harry indignantly snapped then mock pouted as everyone laughed.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —"AAAAARRRGH!"Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something alive!Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink."I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot."See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up.""I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon.""Oh, these people's minds work in strange** ways"So, we have minds. From what I've seen, you don't!" Growled Sirius.,

**Petunia, they're not like you and me,"**  
"Yes, well. I'm not the one trying to Stamp the magic out of my nephew am I?" Kiera growled at the book.  
**said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters**

, **he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"You should have jumped out at him and yelled 'BOO' !" One of the Weasley twins cackled, not noticing how Harry paled noticing this decided to watch him more closely and speak with him after this chapter.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggsthat their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor."Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy."No post on Sundays,"he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —"Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one —"Out! OUT!"Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor."That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his moustache at the same time."I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Justpack some clothes. No arguments!"He looked so dangerouswith half his moustache missing that no one dared argue.**

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**  
**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while."Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**

Madam Pomfrey scowled, looking critically at where Harry was sat. He looked too skinny for her liking.

**By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**  
**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**  
**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**  
**Mr. H. Potter**  
**Room 17**  
**Railview Hotel**  
**Cokeworth**  
**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room."Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

"Listen to her!"Hermione snarled.

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a ploughed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage."Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"Daddy went mad a long time ago, Dudders. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure it out. " Kheana sneered at the book. Kiera however chuckled and said" I'm not. What with his one brain cell I'm suprised he hasn't had an aneurysm already from thought process in general."

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley snivelled."It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."**  
**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old , you weren't eleven every day.**  
**Uncle Vernon was back and he was was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**  
"I'm sorry.. And how is a Storm forecast a good thing?" Kiera asked. " Unless you'd like to be hit by lightening."

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-grey water below them."I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**  
**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**  
**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up."Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**  
**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Everyone's eyes narrowed at the book, including Snape's very angry ones.  
"You could have gotten sick!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked in fury. " I was fine." Harry firmly replied to the concerned looks.  
"We realize that Harry. But you have to understand that your relatives obviously do not care if you get sick or not." Snape spoke with a blank face but underneath he was very concerned.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.**  
**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all,wondering where the letter writer was now.**  
**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**  
**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him— three… two… one…BOOM.**  
**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next? " Flitwick asked. There was a pause then... " Ooh me ! Me ! Pick Me! " Kheana jumped up and down as she went and collected the book. Sitting back down, she said " Let's take a ten minute break then resume, ok?"


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Kheana mentioned a break, Harry ran outside to the lake and collapsed next to the large oak tree; completely unaware that Snape had followed him outside.

Sighing, the Professor walked over to the overwhelmed student and sat down next to him softly. Glancing, over at the boy he was sad to see the fifteen year old was nervously biting his lip and trying to keep tears out of his eyes. "Harry?" Snape asked quietly to gain his attention," May I speak to you child?" Recieving a nod in reply, Snape looked sadly over the water and sighed. " You are very much like your mother, Harry. And for that I apologize. I have foolishly allowed a childish grudge to blind me to the real you forgive me? " Snape looked back at the emerald eyes and blinked back tears from the corners of his eyes softly.

Meeting his teachers eyes, Harry nodded and choked out" I forgive you sir. " Then startling both of them, he launched himself at the man and hugged him desperately. "Child, I have a question for you ok. Just nod yes or do not do so for no, understood?" Snape said. A nod was his answer. " Ok, Harry other the starvation, the cupboard and chores. Did the Dursley's ever hit you? And Harry Hunting does not count. " There was a pause then, five minutes later he received a very hesitant nod. " Were these beatings regular?" another nod. "How often child? Once a week, once every two days or once a ?" Snape prodded the boy gently, as he felt tears fall from the child face he thought ' Please, don't let it have been far more often!"

Silence met his question and hias stomach sank as he asked sadly," Was it every single day Harry?" Finally looking up the fifteen year old croaked out "Yes." Then buried his head into his teachers robes as he started crying even more. " oh child. Hush, little one. Ssh. Your alright. No one will harm you here. Hush now." Snape spoke gently as he rubbed the boys back in soothing circular motions. Eventually noticing Dumbledore coming out to find them, Snape gently lifted the boy to his feet and led him towards the castle quietly.

Once inside, Harry nodded his thanks to the Professor and slowly made his way to the Gryffindor table where his friends , as well as three Slytherins were waiting. Noticing that everyone was all seated Kheana lifted the book read opened it to the right chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**"The Keeper of the Keys" Kheana actually bounced as she read the words happily, unaware of the fact that Kiera had raised her eyebrows at her actions. **

**BOOM.**

Everyone jumped as the petite girl shouted the word in a amused voice.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"Idiot" Malfoy said annoyed.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room.**

"And was hit in the face by the door, knocking him out cold. Right?" Caelin said brightly causing Kiera to nearly breath in her water.

**He was holding a rifle in his hands**

"WHAT!" Shrieked a muggle born sixth year in Ravenclaw. Then she started muttering about idiotic whales and dangerous objects around children.

– **now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

"Stop yelling , Kheana!" Kiera snarled.

"No!" a pause, then " You'll never take me alive!"

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.**

**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

"Oh Hagrid. Only you. " McGonagol smiled fondly at the Half-Giant.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

"That is a very literal statement I believe." Kiera and Harry spoke at the same time, causing people to look at them in shock.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother,**

"Dear Danu! That woman is a twig compared to that whale!" Kiera sneered in a perfect imitation of Snape.

**who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."**

"First , but not the last time I''ve heard that." Harry smiled sadly.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

"Literally."

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

"**Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Yay! Birthday cake!" the twins cheered.

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with ****_Happy Birthday Harry _****written on it in green icing.**

"Awww" the females cooed.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

**The giant chuckled.**

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Hagrid!" the female teachers snapped.

This of course only made the man blush bright red sheepishly.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"Butterbeer."

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage.**

**Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy,**

**slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**

"This sounds more like abuse as we go." Pomphrey told Snape quietly, who nodded in agreement.

**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

"**Er — no," said Harry.**

"What do you think? Raised by magic hating muggles, who tried to keep me as downtrodden and miserable as possible." Harry explained to the looks he got.

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

"**Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"_**Sorry**_**?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

"**All what?" asked Harry.**

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

'I fear Hagrids temper is rising" Kiera dramatically sighed, in Trelawney's voice.

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"Where- Oh where- did we go wrong?" Kheana interrupted herself to dramatically sigh.

"**I know **_**some **_**things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About ****_our _****world, I mean. ****_Your _****world. ****_My _****world. ****_Yer parents' world_****."**

"Now your just confusing him."

"**What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

"kaboom!" Caelin grinned wickedly.

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble."**

**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"**But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're **_**famous**_**. You're **_**famous**_**."**

"**What? My — my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"**Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

"**Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally.**

"A crab perhaps?" Caelin suggested, wryly. " No, no no.. He is surely a Whelk. A poisonous one." Kheana spoke up, in a snobby tone. " Personally I think your both wrong. I am aiming for cockroach." Kiera pompously lifted her nose in the air and sneered. " Crab!" " Whelk!" " Cockroach!" Like watching tennis match, everyone watched the debate until Harry said " How about you guys settle this later, ok?"

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley**

**would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"**Kept **_**what **_**from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,**" **said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a**

"Rooster!" Theodore Nott yelled out at the last minute, causing everyone to roar in laughter.

**wizard."**

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

"**I'm a **_**what**_**?" gasped Harry.**

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit.**

**With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be?**

**An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to**

_**Mr. H. Potter,**_

_**The Floor,**_

_**Hut-on-the-Rock,**_

_**The Sea.**_

**He pulled out the letter and read:**

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Mr. Potter,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"**Gallopin' Gorgons,**

**that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

"Animal abuse!" Hermione shrieked.

— **a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

"Impressive, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore spoke softly.

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter.**_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**_

_**Hagrid**_

"hmm." Kiera looked thoughtful as if thinking about why the Headmaster would send Hagrid.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm.**

**Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"it is Potter." Malfoy sneered.

"Raised by muggles, Malfoy." Harry snapped in reply.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

"**He's not going," he said.**

"Wouldn't they want to get rid of you for the year?" Burbage asked. Harry looked sadly at the table in reply and shook his head, saying " They would rather keep their personal house elf then allow me to get a magical education." Hearing this, Snape thought ' Oh child, what have I done? Your childhood is far too much like mine, then James's.'

**Hagrid grunted.**

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

"**A what?" said Harry, interested.**

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"Literally and figurativelly."

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

"**You **_**knew**_**?" said Harry. "You **_**knew **_**I'm a — a wizard?"**

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew**_**! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?**

Snape growled swear words under his breath, as he tried to control his temper.

"My mother was not dratted." said Harry quietly.

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that ****_school _****— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak!**

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"course she did" Snape said loudly enough that only Dumbldore, Flitwick, and McGonagoll heard him.

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —**_**abnormal **_**— and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

Both Hermione and Ginny had gone very white. Turning to Harry they said" That's how you found out? She ranted on jealously and told you like that?" Nodding, Harry soon found himself with a face full of hair as he was hugged by both crying girls.

**Harry had gone very white.**

**As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner.**

"**How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

"**Who?"**

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

"**Why not?"**

"**Gulpin' gargoyles,**

**Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"**

"He never says it." Dumbledore sighed softly.

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

"**Nah — can't spell it. All right —**_**Voldemort**_**. "**

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, **'**cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly.**

"So nice to know."

**One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day!**

**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way.** **All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find**

— **anywa…**

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then.**

**But he couldn't do it.**

**Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

Silence filled the hall as everyone from the light side bowed their head in remembrance of the fallen in the first war against Voldemort. Slowly they resumed reading.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"You remember that?" a first year asked in awe. Annoyed Harry rolled his eyes and said, " I remember a whole lot more now."

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot… ."**

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

A growl echoed through the hall and Kiera's eyes flashed again.

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes,**

Snarls and growls echoed from the Head Table, although Snape's growl was slightly less audible then the others.

**no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion** **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —"**

This time there were multiple yells of anger. And up at the Head table, Snape was starting to feel worse and worse about Harry's home life.

Meanwhile Dumbledore sat staring dejectedly at the table, at silent tears began to stream down his face.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…"**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion.**

**Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on.**

**'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — ****_I _****dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

All thought process in Snape's mind came to a crashing halt as he realized what he had just heard. Slowly, returning to the present he blinked as he looked at the small fifth year and for the first time thought' he hates fame..and I have been comparing him to his father.. Dear Merlin! What have I done?'

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back…**

"Is he a metamorphagus?" Mcgonagoll questioned confused, as she hadn't seen that ability in James.

**and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

"Uh oh.. He's talking about magic .. " Kiera said dramatically.

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—"**

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

" Bad Dursley! Foul language is not to be tolerated. And anyways, I thought you didn't use the M word in your household." Kiera said in a parenting tone.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain.**

**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

" Yay! Go Hagrid! " the twins whooped.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'.**

"No! You don't say." Kiera sneered, obviously in a bad mood for some reason.

**I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."**

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

"**Why were you expelled?"**

"Thats private!" Hermione hissed at Harry.

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Ok. That is disgusting." Ginny stated, as Kheana passed the book to Caelin in silence.

* * *

**Next is Diagon Alley! Will probably be a Harry/ Snape familial or Harry/ Snape/ Dumbledore familial relationship.. Haven't quite decided yet. **


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing unfortunately; but J.K Rowling does, so talk to her about copyright issues.

"**Chapter Five: Diagon Alley**" Caelin read in his quiet but commanding tone.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.  
"It was a dream, he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

"It wasn't a dream!" the creevey brothers chimed in.

"We know!" Everyone replied, sharply.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.  
And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."  
He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him.**

"Evil owls."

**The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.  
Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**

"You have some very odd, imagery." a muggle born spoke up, quietly.

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.  
"Don't do that."  
Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

"hmm." came mutters from several pure bloods.

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl –"  
"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**What?**

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."  
Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.  
"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

"He wont know what the difference is!"

**"Knuts?"  
"The little bronze ones."  
Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.  
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

"Hagrid?" Kiera started sweetly. A littltool sweetly for Kheanaand Caelin's taste as they backed away from the fiery red head quickly.

"Aye, lass? Wha' is it?" the half giant spoke quickly to her. " Why, may I ask; if you were getting up anyways- did you not pay the Prophet owl yourself?" by the end of the question, Kiera's eyes has turned a thunderstorm grey and she had growled the rest of the question out. " Well, I wanted ta get tha lad used to wizarding money. So I had him pay for the paper. " Hagrid seemed nervous about Kiera's appearance and glanced helplessly at Caelin, who getting the idea started to read.

**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."  
Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"Oh dear. " George dramatically fell against Fred and pretended to be unconscious.

**"Um - Hagrid?"  
"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.  
"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."  
"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"  
"But if their house was destroyed -"  
"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."  
"Wizards have banks?"  
"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."  
Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

"What?" a muggle born shrieked.

**"Goblins?"  
"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry.**

"Don't tell the child that!" a few teachers yelled.

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see.  
"Got everythin'? Come on, then."  
Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.  
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.  
"Flew," said Hagrid.  
"Flew?"  
"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."  
They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

" Threstel"

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"  
"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.  
"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."  
Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

"And yes, Professor Snape. I do know restraint." Harry said to the Potions Master, who regarded him sadly thinking ' You shouldn't have to.'

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.  
"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.  
"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o ' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts,**

**so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one.**

"yes he is!" all the third years and up shouted.

**So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

" Moron. No, political leader shouldshave to ask for advice from another .." a ravenclaw went into a rant.

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"  
"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

"that's true." Hermione said.

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.  
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"Hagrid! " All the teachers groaned.

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"  
"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."  
"You'd like one?"  
"Wanted one ever since I was a kid**

" Whoopsie.." Ron murmured just low enough for the group at the Gryffindor table to this caused Kiera and Caelin to stare for a moment then laugh uncontrollably for five minutes. When they regained control, Caelin began to read again.

**- here we go."  
They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.  
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

"Blanket for Fang!"

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.  
"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."  
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

"Seriously, Potter! Out Loud! Did it not occur to you where you were?" Malfoy sneered.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fasteNings)**

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

**COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT  
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set**

**glass or crystal phials**

**telescope set**

**brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"All those textbooks are very suspiscious.." Remus Lupin muttered.

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.  
"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.  
Harry had never been to London before. **

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.  
**

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.  
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. **

**They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?**

"Yes Potter." Greengrass said annoyed.

**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"They don't believe in imagination. So how is it possible that they would have one?"Kiera sneered.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."  
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"Muggle repelling charms" Flitwick piped up.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.  
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. **

**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

"Hagrid." McGonagol said, turning her glare on the half giant.

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"  
The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."  
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

"You know..I'm not sure if anyone is aware of this.. But Harry is famous for being an ORPHAN people. You do know that I am sure he'd rather have his parents then not have them? So why don't you just treat him like everyone else, and get on with your lives?" Kheana snarled at the awed students.

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."  
Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.  
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."  
"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."  
"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."  
"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

"Ah.. Good old Diggle." Harry smiled .

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."  
"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"**

**Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.  
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.  
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid.**

"Evil.. Murderous lying git.." Harry growled

**"Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."  
"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."  
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"  
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

"I wouldn't want to either, with who was with him." Hermione looked sick.

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

" Most likely was." Snape spoke up.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.  
"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."  
**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.  
**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.  
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."  
"Is he always that nervous?"  
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag**

"Nope! Not a hag and definitely not a vampire." Harry brightly interrupted, as the other two of the Golden Trio nodded.

**- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"  
Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."  
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.  
The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."  
He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.  
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible,**

"Never get a collapsible cauldron. " both Remus and Snape said at the same time. "Oh, and what happens if you do?" Harry, Ron and Hermione asked. " They collapse automatically or nevere open to begin with." Snape said. " Who had one of those?" Harry asked confused. "Peter." Remus said causing Harry to snort in laughter, and say " Only the rat would be idiotic enough to buy something like that."

**said a sign hanging over them.  
"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."  
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**

"Probably mum." Ron, Ginny and the twins chorused.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -"**

"Not as fast as the fire bolt but still a great broom."

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.  
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -  
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:  
**_**Enter, stranger, but take heed**_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.**_

"I have to say...That has to be the nicest but most threatening thing someone has said to me." Harry grinned. Unknown to him Snape sadly watched him from the staff table and sighed as he thought ' What is going on with me?'

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.  
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.  
"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."  
"You have his key, Sir?"  
"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose.**

All the girls did the same.

**Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.  
"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.  
The goblin looked at it closely.  
"That seems to be in order."  
"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the YouKnow-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."  
The goblin read the letter carefully.  
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"  
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog  
biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.  
"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.  
"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business.**

Groans echoed from the Gryffindor table and Hermione said " Now he's done it."

**Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."  
Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.  
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"Impressive, Potter. " Moody said , as he, the teachers, Remus, and Order Members looked at Harry in awe that he had remembered that far.

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.  
Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.  
"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"Stalagmites up- Stalactites down." Kiera said.

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."  
He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small  
door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.  
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.  
All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.  
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough.**

"Muggle money you just have to look at the number, though." Colin Creevey said.

**Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"Actually, there are seven speeds to the Gringotts carts. Considering how Hagrid destroyed their idea of cleanliness - I think they gave them the 1 speed cart which goes about 100km per hour.

The standard carts, if you just take out the key and not dog treats ect; are all seven speeds. From 1-10km , then 10-50km , 50-70km , 70-90km, 90-105km, 105km-115km and 115-130 km per hour. Goblins are the most obsessive compulsive creatures in the wizarding world. So next time you go, Hagrid- make sure the key is out before hand." Kiera lectured.

**"One speed only," said Griphook.  
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.  
"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.  
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.  
"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.  
"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"Ooh! I like these Goblins.. Can we ask your friends when we go back to Ireland if the bank there does the same thing? And if it does, can we put the Dursley's in there?" Kheana was jumping up and down. Glancing at her, Kiera said " No."

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.  
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone,**

"Hagrid! Never leave an eleven year old child on their own. Especially if all your going to do is get a drink." Pomfrey snarled.

**feeling nervous.  
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.  
"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "  
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face**

"Oh! Ferret Face!"Kheana brightly pointed out.

**was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.  
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"  
"Yes," said Harry.  
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to took at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

"Dudley"Ginny coughed.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.  
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.  
"No," said Harry.  
"Play Quidditch at all?"  
"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"  
"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.  
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"There's nothing wrong with any of the houses." Kiera snarled, gaining approving looks from the heads of house and headmaster.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.  
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."  
"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"  
"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.  
"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

There was a snort of laughter to Harry's left and he turned to find Remus trying to catch his breath. " Your father and I kind of pranked Hagrid for doing something to the forest. " came the answer.

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.  
"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"  
"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.  
"Oh, sorry," said the other,. not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"  
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

"Technically, Malfoy- I don't think it's any of your business where someone's parents are, if they are alive or dead and if they are pure blooded or not. " Kiera snarled.

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**

"Git."

**What's your surname, anyway?"  
But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.  
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Again, it's not your business who he is. " Kheana frowned at the blond who was blushing furiously now.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).  
"What's up?" said Hagrid.  
"Nothing," Harry lied.**

"Oh, Harry. You have always been terrible at lying." McGonagol smiled at her Favourite student.

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"  
"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"  
"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.  
"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."  
"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"True." all the teachers said. "Lily was a great witch." Sprout said adamantly.

**"So what is Quidditch?"  
"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"It is not! " all the quiddicttch fans /players yelled.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"  
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"**

"You could be less biased." Sprout turned to Hagrid.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."  
"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.  
They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts**

"Hermione and Remus' favourite book store. " the weasley's and Harry said grinning, causing said two to blush profusely.

**where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"What?" Harry asked looking at Fred and George who were staring at him as if they had no idea who he was.

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

Suddenly everyone was laughing, and the twins said " We can help you!"

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances,"**

"Why does that sentence sound familiar..." muttered a few people.

**said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."  
Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. **

**Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

"I was interested in potions. Until I was getting insulted by the teacher for no reason." Harry said and unknown to him again caused Snape to lower his head in shame.

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.  
"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."  
Harry felt himself go red.  
"You don't have to -"  
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**

"Hey Neville! Maybe you should invest in a tracking charm or cage or something." Hermione said causing the brown haired boy to blush and duck his head.

**- an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."  
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

" Urgh! Bad description mate!" Ron groaned.

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys.**

**Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."  
A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.  
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"It changes every year. When I got mine it was Salazar Slytherin's, yet I know for a fact that Slytherin's wand is in my Family vault with the other Founders wands." Harry said. Kiera cleared her throat and said " It's actually Morgana Le Fay's wand. It is usually said to be Merlin's wand- yet no one ever found the Mage or his wand. If you look at muggle history books, there is a tale about Morgana , his apprentice burying him in a cave under Caerleon. The reason for this was he was supposed to wait until the world needed him again, then out of the ashes of fire would rise and lead us ." By the end, everyone looked gobsmacked.

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

"You can sense that?" McGonagoll asked, making Harry, Hermione, Kheana, Kiera and Caelin nod.

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

"Whoops.."

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.  
"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.  
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"Yes, Lily was an extremely gifted witch." Flitwick squeaked.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.**

McGonagoll smiled as she thought of her previous favourite student.

**Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.  
"And that's where..."  
Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."  
He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.  
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.  
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.  
"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.  
"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.  
"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

"No..No. Never! " Kheana and the twins chorused eerily.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry. "Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. **

**As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

"Ah yes.. The mandatory speech." Dumbledore smiled as he spoke.

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own.**

**Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.  
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.  
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -"  
Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."  
Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"Well, you can't say that Ollivander doesn't like tricky customers." Kiera said.

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls**

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..  
"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

Harry looked down , and waited for the explosion unaware of the onyx eyes that watched his every movement.

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.  
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"You have a brother wand to you know who.." Ron looked sick, as he glanced at Harry as if the boy would kill him.

**Harry swallowed.  
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."  
Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.  
He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.  
Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.  
"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night my parents died."**

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.  
"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."**

"hmm. I don't know if I would call Death Defying Adventures fun..." Harry said.

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.  
"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Harry."**

"You didn't tell him how to get on the platform?" Hermione asked.

"It's ok Hermione. I got on alright." Harry said.

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Caelin said. "Who wants it?" he held up the book as if for ransom.

"I will Mr. McDonald," Professor Sprout said, levitating the book up to the table.


	8. Chapter 8

"**The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." **Professor Sprout read.

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**

"Is it ever?" Came the sarcastic question.

**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him, in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

Growls echoed across the room.

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in **_**A History of Magic**_**. His school books were very interesting.**

"What?!" Caelin, the twins and Kiera asked shocked .

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night,**

"Really cousin, your turning into Da." Kiera sighed shaking her head.

**Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice.**

A screech echoed through the Great Hall as said owl flew in through the windAnd and onto Harry's shoulder.

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off anther day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

"boring! We count by how many explosions Kiera causes! And how often her father yells at her!" Caelin grinned and ducked the punch, as people gaped at them.

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day,**

"Why leave it so late?" McGonagoll asked curiously. " Because it didn't give them time to change their minds." Kiera sneered in answer to such an obvious question.

**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

Here the room erupted in laughter.

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

"**Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to , to go to Hogwarts." Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

"**Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

"**Thank you."**

"so polite." all the girls coed

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **"**Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"Illegal." The ravenclaws yelled, to the teachers annoyance.

**Harry didn't say anything.**

"**Where is this school, anyway?"**

"Scotland." Someone snarled.

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.** **"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.**

**His aunt and uncle stared. **"**Platform what?"**

"**Nine and three-quarters."**

"**Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"yes there is. Petunia knows where it is." Snape said logically while thinking ' again! I'm an idiot!'

"**It's on my ticket."**

"**Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

"**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

"But that takes the fun out of it." Kheana said she looked at Kiera and grinned saying " Where the hell would he have gotten it taken off?the only place I know of St. Mungos.."

Caelin and Kiera turned, then glancing at each other burst out laughing when they realized the Dursleys would not set one foot inside a Magical hospital.

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.**

Kiera just shook her head.

**He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes, he'd change on the train.**

"Whoops.." Caelin sheepshishly looked anywhere except Kiera, who had her eyebrows raised. Kheana just snorted saying " Caelin, Hogwarts robes may be impressive but do not make you invisible to the naked eye."

Hearing this Caelin blushed profusely and the teachers became even more curious about their strange Slytherin group.

**He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up.**

**Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

"More like bribed the idiot"

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him.**

"Uh oh.."

**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

Kiera was looking suspiciously at the book.

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"**

**He was quite right, of course.**

"Was not."a Hufflepuff rolled his eyes.

"Did someone say my name?" Theodore Nott, a neutral Slytherin asked.

Nervous chuckles were his only reaction.

**There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

"Looks are so deceiving. " Caelin sighed.

Kiera snorted and said " Do you mean like how you can be such an idiot at some times but an evil kleptomaniac at others?"

Laughing, Caelin grinned " That's possible. And how your probably the only person I know with three animagus forms, who is a pyromaniac and likes explosives obsessively."

"ah but you both are strange in one similar way. " Kheana joined in to the amusement of the hall. Looking at her, the two older Slytherins raised their eyebrows questioningly.

"Your both capable of having a screaming match with a portrait of Kiera's mad Royal ancestor or her father. " Kheana grinned.

Laughing Kiera shook her head remembering ' Mad Alassea' O'Connor's fight with her. " You know I didn't think that was possible. I thought she was called 'Mad' for a reason. " Caelin snickered. Seeing they were finished with their conversation, Professor Sprout continued .

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

More growls

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig.**

Hedwig looked at Harry evilly.

**He'd have to ask someone.** **He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters.**

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose.**

**Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one.**

**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

"Oh boy." Someone sighed.

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —"**

"Que Weasley family." Kiera said.

**Harry swung round.**

**The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him, and they had an **_**owl**_**.**

"Ah, the Weasels." Malfoy said . Kiera in retaliation sent a silenco towards him.

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mum, can't I go…"**

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

"what was it you did again Caelin?" Kheana snickered ducking the arm.

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you **_**tell **_**I'm George?"**

**"Sorry, George, dear."**

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy,**

"No that was Goerge. " Caelin smirked at the baffled looks.

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there - and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

**There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

"Oi!" Ron said.

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —"**

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

"**Er — okay," said Harry. He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

"It is."

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble —**

**leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash —**

**It didn't come…**.

**he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said ****_Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock_****. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words ****_Platform Nine and Three-Quarters _****on it.**

**He had done it.**

Everyone in Gryffindor began cheering.

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat.**

**He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

"**Oh, **_**Neville**_**," he heard the old woman sigh.**

"Evil toad." Neville snarled.

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on."**

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

"Hedwig ate her." Said owl tried to look innocent.

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**

Many winced

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

"**Yes, please," Harry panted.**

"**Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

"**Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

" Really people? It's a cut from his parents murder! Try to be a little more tactful." Kheana snarled.

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?"**

"**He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

"**What?" said Harry.**

"_**Harry Potter**_**." chorused the twins.**

"**Oh, him,"**

" what ? I wasn't used to hearing my name! " Harry said.

**said Harry. **"**I mean, yes, I am."**

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red.**

**Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

"**Fred? George? Are you there?"**

"**Coming, Mum."**

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

"Good boy." Kiera grinned as everyone else looked shocked.

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **"**Ron, you've got something on your nose." The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

"Social suicide."

"_**Mum**_**— geroff!" He wriggled free.**

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

Everyone roared in laughter as Ron blushed bright red.

"**Shut up," said Ron.**

"**Where's Percy?" said their mother.**

"**He's coming now."**

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter ****_P _****on it.**

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"**

"**Oh, are you a **_**prefect**_**, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"**

"**Or twice —"**

"**A minute —"**

"**All summer —"**

The people who had calmed down erupted into laughter again.

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**

**How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.**

"**Because he's a **_**prefect**_**," said their mother fondly.**

"And that deserves special treatment how?" Kiera asked.

**"All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there."**

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **"**Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

Remus Lupin ( one of the adults invited) laughed, Kiera and Caelin laughed as they turned to explain to the Professors. "You never want to give a prankster ideas."

**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**

"**Great idea though, thanks, Mum."**

"**It's **_**not funny**_**. And look after Ron."**

"**Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

"Aargh!" Ron yelled in frustration.

"**Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

The teachers and order members invited nodded.

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**

"**Who?"**

"_**Harry Potter**_**!"**

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **"**Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…"**

Ginny started to blush and Kiera frowned at her, causing the younger girl to look away.

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"**

"**Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning."**

"**Poor **_**dear **_**— no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."**

**Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

**Their mother suddenly became very stern.** "**I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."**

"**All right, keep your hair on."**

**A whistle sounded. **"**Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

Now all three Slytherins frowned at the fan girl.

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**

"**We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."**

"**_George!_****"**

"Hey Kiera, have we ever blown up a toilet ? " Caelin asked getting bored of intimidating the Weasley. " No idea. Da's the one with the record of what I do and don't do." Kiera glanced at the male Slytherin .

"**Only joking, Mum."**

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**

"Hmm. " Kheana looked thoughtful.

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red headed boy came in.**

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**

" Ok, are you really Harry's friends? Because so far I see Fan girl who wants to marry my cousin ( here Kiera pointed at Ginny), a lazy fan boy who has no life whatsoever and no confidence ( she pointed to Ron ) and a bookworm who relies on books to help her through life ( Kiera pages turned to Hermione). " the Irish heir asked angrily.

" Of course we are! " Hermione shrieked at the red head. Raising an eyebrow, Kiera said " Well I guess we will see wont we." Then gestured for the story to continue.

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

"**Hey, Ron." The twins were back.** "**Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

"**Right," mumbled Ron.**

**Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

The Slytherins at the Gryffindor table raised their eyebrows , and Remus growled slightly.

**Harry nodded.**

"**Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…"**

**He pointed at Harry's forehead.**

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

"Very subtle."

"**So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

"**Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."**

"**Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."**

"**Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

"A little star struck perhaps?" Kiera asked sweetly, as the other two backed away from the enraged witch.

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**.

This seemed to make Kiera relax slightly.

"**Err — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Ah, the Petunia variety!" Caelin said chirppily.

**So you must know loads of magic already." The Weasley's were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

" Not quite." Malfoy chipped in.

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

"**Horrible — well, not all of them.**

**My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.**

" You see. No confidence. " Kheana sneered, as the other weasley's looked at the bright red Ron.

**I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch.** **Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first.**

"No individuality. You all feel like your being overshadowed by Bill, yet have no idea what it's like being in a family with more uncles then you can count. " Kiera snarled.

**You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

"For Danu's sake! Stop complaining." Caelin had lost his normally calm temper. The explosion , although short caused Kiera and Kheana to glance at each other then Caelin.

Finally they began to applaud and Caelin turned to them snarled " What?" Kiera sniggered quietly , " We'll its just being so long since you ' exploded' that we didn't think it would be now. Therefore we applaud you for keeping calm for so long!"

Snarling again, Caelin grouchily waved the story on as the other two grinned at each other.

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.** "**His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"… **and until Hagrid told "me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" Ron gasped.**

" Voldemort translates to Flight from Death in French , therefore he is technically the one with a phobia. " Kiera said.

"**What?" said Harry.**

"_**You said You-Know-Who's name!**_**" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"**

"**I'm not trying to be **_**brave **_**or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't.** **See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"Stop holding yourself back Cousin." Kiera requested.

"**You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**

"Granger." Malfoy said.

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"**

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry**— **but the woman didn't have Mars Bars.**

Remus got a glassy look in his eye.

**What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life.**

"But no Irn Bru." Kiera sighed sadly as her friends smirked at her.

**Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

"I was hungry" came the answer.

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

"**Hungry, are you?"**

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside.**

**He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…"**

"Oh gross. Your Da, seems to love that stuff." Kheana said to Kiera. " I know. He practically lives on it." Kiera made a face.

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"**

"**You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

"**Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.**

"**They're not **_**really **_**frogs, are they?"**

" Eww. " Caelin made a face as the girls laughed at his misfortune. " You will never get me to eat Escargots again!"

**He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."**

"**What?"**

"**Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

"I have every single Chocolate frogs card." Caelin said. " With your hobby, Im not surprised." Kiera said sarcastically ( referring to him being a kleptomaniac).

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache.**

**Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

The hall erupted in cheers.

"**So **_**this **_**is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!"**

**said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —"**

**Harry turned over his card and read:**

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**_

_**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS**_

_**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.**_

_**Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.**_

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **"**He's gone!"**

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. **"**He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

"Boring. Then you don't get to have weekly screaming matches with them and provide entertainment at the same time!" Kiera said.

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "**_**Weird!"**_

"** Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin.**

**He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they **_**mean **_**every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

" And you know what that tastes like, how?" Kheana asked. George just blushed as the hall erupted in laughter.

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."**

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

"Good line up." Commented a Hufflepuff

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.**

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

"**He'll turn up," said Harry.**

"So polite. " more girls and staff coed.

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" He left.**

"**Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"**

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"**

"Dangerous. " Kiera sighed.

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

"hmm. " Kiera turned to Hermione.

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**

"Not very good with manners then. " Caelin said.

"**Er — all right." He cleared his throat. **"**Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

" You cannot have believed that was a real spell? " Kheana asked Ron who she was staring at. In answer the boy just blushed.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.**

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart,** **of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

Sprout wheezed and paused for a breath then continued.

**She said all this very fast.**

" breath child! its not the end of the world! " Kiera asked.

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

"**Harry Potter," said Harry.**

"**Are you really?" said Hermione. **"**I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in**_**Modern Magical History **_**and **_**The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts **_**and **_**Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century**_**."**

"You see. You rely on books when not all books are true. I too have read those and I can tell you now, that they are all fictional. There was only one survivor and instead of interviewing him they spread gossip.

This tells me that if all three of you read and believe these stories then you are not true friends. And Harry, I hope you realize this soon. " Kiera said with finality as the three fans blushed.

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."**

**And she left, taking the toad less boy with her.**

"**Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

"Learn some manners Weasley." Kheana snarled.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**

"**What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.**

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw **_**would **_**be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

"**That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"**

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**

**So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons,**

"Cool."

**and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts,"**

"If you don't know what your brother is doing then perhaps you should ask? Hmm?" Surprisingly Hannah Abbott sneered this.

**said Ron. **"**Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the **_**Daily Prophet**_**, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

**Harry stared. **"**Really? What happened to them?"**

"**Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

"He is an idiot trying to break into a Goblin stronghold." Kiera said. " There is no place safer. " Dumbledore looked affronted and began to say " Hogwarts is just as.."

Kiera glared at him to shut him up , then said " No. Hogwarts is safe for students with all the protections the founders placed on it. Yet it is not very safe for magical objects. Unless they are the Founders heirlooms. Gringotts however is the safest place because it would be shear insanity to break into it, as its not just a bank. It's a goblin stronghold with all sorts of creatures inside."

Kheana smirked and said " Remember when we helped test the defenses Kiera?" Kiera turned and grinning, nodded. " What did we meet in there again?" Caelin asked. " One Hungarian horn tail , a cavetroll - although I am sure there was more, Bargheist, another dragon this time with you getting a third degree burn Caelin, Unseelie Fay, a vampire - although I have no idea why, a lethifold, fourteen dementors and after I accidentally blasted through a door the Cyn Anwyn Or devil dogs. One of which bit me accidentally. Yes, I'd say they are well protected. " Kiera recalled wincing slightly.

By the end everyone was gaping slightly and Sprout slowly began reading again.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort"**

"It's a bloody name!"

**without worrying.**

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

"**Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.**

"**What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toad less boy, or Hermione Granger this time.**

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop.**

Ah. The Ferret.

**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**

"Bond, James Bond."

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

"**Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**

"sheer stupidity." Kiera sneered.

"**I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.**

" Are you trying to be killed repeatedly Draconius?" Kheana asked, the blond who paled.

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasley's and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

"**Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

"**Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.**

"**Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**

"Idiocy gets you nowhere Harry." Kiera said.

"**But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

" Ah, the rat did something worthwhile. " Lupin sneered.

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once.**

**Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

"**What **_**has **_**been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry.**

**He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."**

**And so he had. **"**You've met Malfoy before?"**

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**

"**I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched.**

**My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."**

**He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"**

"** All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

The Weasleys winced.

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"**

Harry smiled at Hagrid.

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**

**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**

"It's always the same."

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

"Ooh! I love your thoughts! " all the fan girls coed, only to cower at Kiera's look.

**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.**

"**Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

"**Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff;**

"James didn't. He ended up in the lake. " Remus told Harry as he came to sit next to them.

**they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"**

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"And that's that chapter."

"Me next." Ginny squealed .


	9. Chapter 9

**"The Sorting Hat" **Ginny read loudly, squealing at the opportunity to read about Harry's life.

"Down girl!" Kheana muttered, sneering slightly.

Ignoring the older redhead, Ginny continued with the Chapter.

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green  
robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought  
was that this was not someone to cross.**

"Then why do you always do so ?" McGonagall asked raising an eyebrow. Harry coughed and then said " Because I have to for the fate of the world?.."

Gazing at him, with both eyebrows raised now all she did was say " hmm.." Then turned to Kiera and her group with the same question.

"His fault !" Kiera yelled pointing at the resident kleptomaniac , causing everyone to laugh and Snape to ask himself ' What did I do to deserve this?'.

**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.  
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."  
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have  
fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit  
with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too  
high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to  
the upper floors.**

"No, Kheana. You may not try to fit the Dursley's house into the Entrance Hall." Kiera scoldecousin surrogate sister who had gotten a strange glint in her eye.

" But Kiera! You have to admit..It does sound like fun.." Here the thirteen year old paused, then said " I mean think of what would happen if they suddenly woke up to find themselves and their house in a 1000 year old Castle.."

Caelin snorted and said " Vernon would have a heart attack , Petunia would have a stroke or die from lack of oxygen. And Dudley would become so frightened he would actually go for a run - straight into the Forbidden forest. And the Acromantulla's lair."

Sighing Kiera just waved Ginny on.

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry  
could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right  
-the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall**

**showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They  
crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have**

**done, peering about nervously.  
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term  
banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great  
Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very  
important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be  
something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with  
the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free  
time in your house common room.**

Here most of the hall smiled.

**"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and  
Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced  
outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your  
triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose  
house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is  
awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a  
credit to whichever house becomes yours.**

**"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the  
rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as  
you can while you are waiting."**

"Professor..You didn't actually expect them to keep quiet did you?.."Caelan asked. McGonagall looked stunned, then said " Well yes. But if not. Then you are allowed to use that time to meet your year mates."

"Oh.." Rang out through the hall as it seemed to dawn on everyone that it was another test.

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened  
under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to  
flatten his hair.  
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall.  
"Please wait quietly."  
She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.  
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.  
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he  
was joking."**

Here Caelan, Kiera, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan snorted. However, when the Slytherin's did so everyone gaped at them. Then Fred said " What did you do? "

" We, that is to say Caelan and I, told Kheana that in order to get into a house she had to slay a basilisk without being killed or petrified." Kiera explained grinning away.

" That was not funny! Uncle Blair was furious with you!" Kheana snapped. "Still is , if I recall.." Kiera murmured sadly.

Seeing Kiera's mood dropping Caelin waved 'Go ahead' to Ginny.

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole  
school? But he didn't know any magic yet - what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived.  
He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified,too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering  
very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one  
she'd need. **

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more  
nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**

"Very pessimistic aren't you Cousin?" Kiera said depressed, causing Caelin to frown .

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air -  
several people behind him screamed.  
"What the -?"**

"Ah! The ghosts! " Kheana grinned.

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just  
streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent,  
they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing  
at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat  
little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him  
a second chance -"  
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He  
gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I  
say, what are you all doing here?"  
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.  
Nobody answered.  
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"**

"No..Really? What gave you that idea?" Kiera had gone into sarcastic denial.

**A few people nodded mutely.  
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you  
know."  
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to  
start."  
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away  
through the opposite wall.  
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and  
follow me."  
Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line  
behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out  
of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors  
into the Great Hall.  
Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was  
lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair  
over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.  
These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the  
top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.  
Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a  
halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.  
The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the  
flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the  
ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry  
looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He  
heard  
Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read  
about it in Hogwarts, A History."**

"What gave you that idea? " Kiera was really starting to worry Kheana and Caelin now.

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the  
Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.  
Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed  
a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she  
put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and  
extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**

"No Kheana." Caelin said wearily. Grumbling Kheana got ready for a huge argument when all of a sudden Kiera snapped " Yes Kheana. Give Bitchy a Heart attack."

Pausing for a moment in her plotting , Kheana murmured " Um.. Should we call him here?" Caelin sighed , glanced at Kiera and then nodded.

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly,  
that seemed the sort of thing - noticing that everyone in the hall was  
now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there  
was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened  
wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:  
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**

"I don't." Kiera snarled.

**But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.**

"Challenge accepted." Kiera, Fred, George and Lee yelled.

**You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,**

"Pervert!"Kheana yelled, causing Caelin to say " Kheana ! Keep your mind out of the gutter!"

**So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none) **

"EEEWWW!" Kheana shrieked.

" Kheana! " Caelin yelled, as he sealed the letter he had written and handed it to his personal elf.

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"  
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It  
bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.  
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll  
kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**

"Personally, I like the basilisk better." Fred said.

**Harry. smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than  
having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on  
without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather alot;  
Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If  
only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy,  
that would have been the one for him.  
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of  
parchment.**

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to  
be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"  
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the  
hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause**

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.  
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at  
the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving  
merrily at her.

All the Hufflepuffs erupted in applause for each of their students names. As did the Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors. The Slytherins however just clapped politely.

**"Bones, Susan!"  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next**

**to Hannah.**

**"Boot, Terry!"  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws  
stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.  
" Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender"  
became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded  
with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's  
imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they  
looked like an unpleasant lot. He was starting to feel definitely sick  
now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school.**

**He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but  
because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.  
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at  
others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the  
sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost  
a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.  
"Granger, Hermione!"  
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.  
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.**

"Weasley, you have no manners or idea of friendship whatsoever." Kheana growled

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when  
you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just  
sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor  
McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a  
mistake and he'd better get back on the train?  
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called,  
he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide  
with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off  
still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it  
to "MacDougal, Morag."  
Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at  
once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"  
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with  
himself.  
There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a  
pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and  
then, at last - "Potter, Harry!"**

Harry bowed his head and waited for judgement.

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little  
hissing fires all over the hall.  
"Potter, did she say?"  
The Harry Potter?"  
The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the  
hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he  
was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.**

"Difficult? How was it difficult? He's a Gryffindor!" Ron yelled.

**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty  
of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness,  
yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting...  
So where shall I put you?"  
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not  
Slytherin.**

There was a long pause , then the hall turned to Harry shocked to find him curled defensively into Kiera's shoulder.

"You could have been a Slytherin?" Ron Weasley said in disgust as the oh moved down the bench from him.

In response, the elder two Weasley boys moved closer to Harry and the Slytherin's.

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be  
great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you  
on the way to greatness, no doubt about that - no? Well, if you're sure  
- better be GRYFFINDOR!"  
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off  
the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so  
relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed  
that he was getting the loudest cheer the Prefect got up and**

**shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got  
Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff  
he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden,  
horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.  
He could see the High Table properly now.**

All of a sudden the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open causing the teachers to stand with their wands out. " May I ask who you are?" Dumbledore asked.

The six foot tall redheaded man nodded and snapped " I am Lord Blair Alexander O'Connor. I was asked to join you by my nephew, and his surrogate sister."

Kiera hearing this paled and tried to hide under the table, causing her family to frown at her slightly in concern.

"Very well, you may join us at the head table if you'd like." Dumbles said, ignoring the raised eyebrows. " No thank you. I think I will sit with my daughter and family." Blair said, his voice softening on the word daughter trying to communicate to Kiera that he had forgiven her years ago.

Instead she swallowed and placed Caelin in between them as he sat down, causing him to watch her sadly.

**At the end nearest him sat**

**Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned  
back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair,  
sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd  
gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair  
was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the  
ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirtell, too, the nervous young man  
from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple  
turban.**

"Idiot."Caelin said sarcastically.

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean,"  
a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table.  
"Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was  
pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a  
second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"  
Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next  
to him.  
"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley Pompously across Harry  
as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled  
up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

"Pompous Ass." Kheana snarled causing Blair to raise an eyebrow at her, while Harry, The Twins, Caelin and Kiera laughed.

"Oh?" Blair asked curiously. "What? When he struts around like a peacock saying the world belongs at his feet you know there is an issue." Kheana said , causing the others to snicker.

"He's not that bad!" Hermione or Beaver as the Slytherins had taken to calling her snapped. " We beg to differ!" The group chorused.

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how  
hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.  
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students,  
his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to  
see them all there.  
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin  
our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit!  
Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

"Dumbledore...Would you like me to book you a room at the happy place?" Caelin asked innocently, causing a new bout of laughter from the group to ensue only Blair joined in this time.

**"Thank you!"  
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know  
whether to laugh or not.  
"Is he - a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

"YES!" Everyone yelled.

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But  
he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"  
Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with  
food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table:  
roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon  
and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding,  
peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint  
humbugs.**

"We need to work on your definitions." Blair said, turning to Harry.

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been  
allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything  
that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his  
plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat.  
It was all delicious.**

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry  
cut up his steak,  
"Can't you -?"  
I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't  
need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've in troduced  
myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost  
of Gryffindor Tower."**

(Here Kiera and Caelin cackled for some reason while Blair turned a bit green)

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you  
- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"  
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began  
stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.  
"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"  
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't  
going at all the way he wanted.  
"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His  
whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on  
a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it  
properly. **

Kiera cackled again at her fathers face.

**Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly  
Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said,  
"So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house  
championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without  
winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody  
Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."  
Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost  
sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained  
with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to  
see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

here Caelin smirked.

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.  
"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

"I have." Kiera said happily, while every gave their a ' Are you an idiot? ' look.

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food**

**faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment**  
**later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you**  
**could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam**  
**doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding - "**  
**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their**  
**families.**

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell**  
**him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock**  
**for him."**

"Thats not funny! What if your father had resented that and decided to leave or stay and become abusive?" Snape snarled.

**The others laughed.**  
**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**  
**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the**  
**family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept**  
**trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he**  
**pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but**  
**nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for**  
**dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles**  
**when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let**  
**go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They**  
**were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you**  
**should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might**  
**not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased**  
**he bought me my toad."**

"What?" Blair asked shocked.

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about**  
**lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm**  
**particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something**  
**into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-";**  
**"You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of**  
**thing - ").**

"Ass." The twins chorused at the same time Hermione said " Lovely man."

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at**  
**the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet.**  
**Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor**  
**Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy**  
**black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

"Voldemort wanna-be." Harry snarled.

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's**  
**turban straight into Harry's eyes - and a sharp, hot pain shot across**  
**the scar on Harry's forehead.**  
**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**  
**"What is it?" asked Percy.**  
**"N-nothing."**  
**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the**  
**feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look - a feeling that he**  
**didn't like Harry at all.**

"No, Really?" Kiera said sarcastically, causing her father to look at her worriedly.

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**  
**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so**  
**nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want**  
**to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about**  
**the Dark Arts, Snape."**  
**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**  
**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to**  
**his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

Boring! Everyone yelled.

**"Ahern - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I**  
**have a few start-of-term notices to give you.**  
**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to**  
**all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember**  
**that as well."**  
**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley**  
**twins.**

"oops.."the twins, trio, and Slytherins said sheepishly.

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all**  
**that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.t**  
**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone**  
**interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**  
**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor**  
**on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to**  
**die a very painful death."**

"oh damn. That means no playing chicken with deadly obstacles each year right?" Kiera moaned.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.**  
**"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.**  
**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he**  
**usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the**  
**forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he**  
**might have told us prefects, at least."**  
**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried**  
**Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become**  
**rather fixed.**

"how did you notice that?" All the professors and Blair asked. In answer Harry only shrugged.

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a**  
**fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose**  
**high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**  
**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"**  
**And the school bellowed:**

**"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,**  
**Teach us something please,**  
**Whether we be old and bald**  
**Or young with scabby knees,**  
**Our heads could do with filling**  
**With some interesting stuff,**

**For now they're bare and full of air,**  
**Dead flies and bits of fluff,**  
**So teach us things worth knowing,**  
**Bring back what we've forgot,**  
**just do your best, we'll do the rest,**  
**And learn until our brains all rot.**

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the**  
**Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**  
**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they**  
**had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**  
**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!**  
**And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"**

"We are not horses !" A first year yelled.

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds,**  
**out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were**  
**like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He**  
**was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits**  
**along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice**  
**Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging**  
**tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their**  
**feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when**  
**they came to a sudden halt.**

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as**  
**Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

"Ah! Peeves!"Caelin said grinning away.

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised**  
**his voice, "Peeves - show yourself"**  
**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**  
**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

"No! Not the Baron!" Kheana fell over dramatically causing everyone to roar in laughter.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide**  
**mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking**  
**sticks.**  
**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**  
**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**  
**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked**  
**Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on**  
**Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as**  
**he passed.**  
**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again.**  
**"The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even**  
**listen to us prefects. Here we are."**  
**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a**  
**pink silk dress.**

"Urgh..Pink..."Kiera said disgusted.

**"Password?" she said. "Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait**  
**swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled**  
**through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves in the**  
**Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**  
**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the**  
**boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase - they were**  
**obviously in one of the towers - they found their beds at last: five**  
**four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had**  
**already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their**  
**pajamas and fell into bed.**

"Not..bad.."Padma Patil said, considering the colors.

**" Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings.**  
**"Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**

"Ass."Harry growled.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he**  
**fell asleep almost at once.**  
**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange**  
**dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to**  
**him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was**  
**his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it**  
**got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened**  
**painfully - and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with**  
**it -then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh**  
**became high and cold - there was a burst of green light and Harry woke,**  
**sweating and shaking.**

"Harry..are you sure that was a dream?" Kheana asked. Harry looked at the girl and shrugged.

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he**  
**didn't remember the dream at all.**

"And that's it. Who wants it?" Ginny asked. Blair raised his hand, but then said " I'd like to speak with my family first if that's ok."

"Of course. We will have a ten minute break." Dumbledore said as Blair led Kiera, Caelin and Kheana outside.


	10. Chapter 10

Leading his family out to the lake, Blair sat down underneath a willow tree then motioned the rest to do the same . Immediately Caelin and Kheana placed themselves next to him. To his shock and concern however, Kiera sat five feet away and stared at the ground.

Finally he'd had enough of his daughter's submissive behaviour and said sadly " Kiera? What's wrong honey?" Instead of answering though, the younger O'Connor simply stood and walked to the far side of the lake where she stared at the distant mountains.

Blair glanced helplessly at his two other surrogate kids, who sadly watched Kiera. Then Kheana stood and said " She needs you to talk to her. Tell her that you forgive her. Anything that will help her stop fearing your anger. "

With that, Caelin and Kheana walked back into the Castle leaving Kiera with her father.

Five minutes later, Blair walked around the lake and stopped five feet from Kiera. Then after waiting for several moments, he spoke softly in Gaelic ~ Kiera ...my little one..I must apologize for scaring you in such a fit of temper all those years ago..but I fear I have pushed you away from me forever.. And if this is true ...then I fear may have gone too far.. ~ Here he paused as he stared across the lake, unaware that Kiera was now watching him.

~ I never wanted to make you afraid of me, little one... I apologize for that and want you to know that whatever path you choose ...( here he swallowed convulsively) I forgive you. I already forgave you, dear one. For every wrong that you fear you may have commited and hidden from me. Know this child, whatever you choose.. You will always have a home in my heart.~

Finished speaking Blair turned to walk back to the castle, when all of a sudden he was ' attacked' - hugged- by Kiera. When he finally got his bearings back, he heard her whispering " Dad! I'm sorry.. " over and over again.

Shocked, the Lord just rubbed her back and murmured ~ Hush, little one. Your forgiven. Your forgiven.~

Finally five minutes later, they walked back into the castle with Kiera clinging to her father the whole way. Once inside the Hall, Blair pulled Kiera against his side and took the book to start reading.


	11. Chapter 11

**"THE POTIONS MASTER "**Blair began.

**There, look."**

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

**"Wearing the glasses?"**

**"Did you see his face?"**

**"Did you see his scar?"**

"You people do know he's famous for becoming an orphan..right?" Blair asked incredulously, causing some to look shame faced.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. **

**"**Did you actually count?" Blair asked at the same time as Remus**. **Harry shook his head and said " Hogwarts : A History." Of course this caused Kiera, the twins and Caelin to look at him as if to say " We have no idea who you are".

**Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**

"They can!" Kheana yelled to Kiera and Caelin's snickers , followed by Blair's raised eyebrow.

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"Oops.." Remus muttered to the amusement of the present pranksters and McGonagolls annoyance.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. **

"How did you manage that?" Snape and Remus asked confused.

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. **

"Now that..is a record..."Remus murmured, blinking in shock.

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

"Sure..you were!"Caelin drawled.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. **

"Very flattering description. Fits both of them perfectly." Blair said chuckling, causing people to look at the Lord in shock.

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

Here Caelin whistled innocently, causing Kiera to start laughing. Kheana on the other hand turned to the confused group and explained.

" Caelin was on his way from detention apparently and got caught down the wrong corridor. Sadly for him, Mrs. Norris was patrolling the corridor. Apparently she was just about to screech -in his opinion- for Filch when because he was tired, he took a ' misstep'."Kheana said tiredly.

Remus getting the idea, grinned and said " This ' misstep ' was an accidental kick wasn't it?" Caelin, finally looked up and nodded grinning.

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

"But some classes are more useful then others." Kiera grinned.

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old**

**indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

" No point in knowing that! I learn all about history being yelled by a'Mad' portrait while at home for the summer" Caelin smirked. Kiera just laughed as she remembered the last fight with the portrait, while her father chuckled lightly.

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

"No really?" Malfoy said sarcastically.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.**

Blair narrowed his eyes at the Granger girl, as he read this.

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke.**

**"**Idiot." Harry snarled.

**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. **

"You can't teach a subject your afraid of!" Amelia Bones said appalled.

**His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

"Oh dear merlin.." Tonks said exasperated.

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

"No its only the really old families that teach their kids beforehand." Kiera explained.

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

The twins, Remus and Kiera applauded.

**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them - we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"No! Not potions!" Caelin moaned, causing laughter to erupt at the table.

**"Wish McGonagall favored us, " said Harry. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

" She does!" Malfoy sneered**.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

" What? I could have sworn I sent you letters.."Blair said shocked, unaware that he was watched by Dumbledore and Harry.

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

**Dear Harry,**

**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?**

**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.**

**Hagrid**

Said owl fluttered down onto Harry's shoulder with a hoot.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

"Are potions lesions really that bad?" Blair asked, concerned. Kiera just nodded to the book.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. **

"Eh?" Kiera asked.

**Snape didn't dislike Harry - he hated him.**

"Ah! The world is right again!" Caelin said.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

"Intimidation."Snape said, shrugging.

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."**

"Really? You single him out already?" Blair sneered.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

" Ah! Occlumency!" Kiera grinned, causing Dumbledore to look at her in shock.

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had y caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

" Yeah..by being an ass." Caelin said, unaware that his head of house watched sadly.

** "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

" It wasn't bad..until you insulted them."Blair's aura was starting to show causing Kiera to cringe slightly.

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

Again raised eyebrows met the Beaver's eyes.

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

"We'll of course he won't know that! It's a 6th year question!" Kiera snarled.

**"I don't know, sit," said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

**"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."**

**He ignored Hermione's hand.**

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

"2nd year question." Tonks snapped.

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

"It's fine Harry. The trolls probably had no idea either." Kiera said.

**"I don't know, sit." "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?**

"Probably." Blair sneered.

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

"Seventh year question!" Remus yelled.

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

**"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

This caused everyone to start laughing**.**

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

" Probably because you didn't tell them to." Blair's eyes had turned to storm grey.

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.**

" Are you by chance a watch them try to make a potion and suffer as they fail type person by chance?" Blair asked, his tone furious. Snape hearing this, cowered in his chair.

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. **

**Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

Throughout this, Blair was becoming more angry.

**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

By now, Blair was gritting his teeth as he read.

**"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"And your taking it out on Harry why?" Blair ground out, causing Snape to cower even further.

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

**"Doi* push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

Now Blair looked at Ron, and said " If your not a Lord or related to one. Then do not order us around boy." Ron blushed a bright red and munmbled ' I didn't want him to get in trouble..'

Blair ignored the boy and kept reading.

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week - why did Snape hate him so much? "Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

" You need manners lessons. " Kiera snapped at the boy.

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

Hearing the description Kiera, Caelin, and Kheana burst out laughing as Blair rolled his eyes at them. "You have to be the evillist children I know." he said.

" What? It's not my fault Kiera's supposed fiancé doesn't like pranksters." Kheana snickered. Blair just shook his head and continued.

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang - back."**

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."**

" It's not the dangerous names you have to watch out for. It's the cute and fluffy names!" Kiera snickered, as Caelin paled remembering the cat named 'Cutie-pie'. Well.. Not really a cat.. More of a Mountain Lion that Kheana had adopted.

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

"Peasant."Malfoy sneered, causing Kiera to raise her eyebrow and say " Well then to my family .. All of you would be peasants then as we can trace our lineage back to the Royal O'Connors."

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

**"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

"And the other half..chasing us!"Kiera grinned**.**

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first -lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

"Don't eat them.." Harry murmured to Blair, who happily nodded.

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Fitch "that old git."**

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime.**

" Go ahead! I'll let Shasta help!" Kiera grinned.

**D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Fitch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

**"But he seemed to really hate me."**

"He does! " the group agreed.

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals."**

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose.**

"He did!" Caelin happily broke in.

**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:**

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.**

**Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.**

**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**

" Why should I?" Caelin asked at the same time, that Kiera said " But messing with Goblins is fun!" Of when they said this Blair groaned and dropped his head into his hand, as if praying for some sort of miracle.

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

" How about that little package that Dumbles just happily removed on the same day?" Kiera asked sarcastically.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. **

**Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"Let's see: Yes to the first, in Hogwarts, and yes to the third." Kiera, Caelin and Kheana snickered.

Blair on the other hand rolled his eyes and said " Ok. Who wants it?" In answer, Lee Jordan took the book from Kiera's father and opened it to start.


End file.
